David PoeThe Late Album

During the three years since David Poe's last album, a lot of sound-alikes have come and gone. Maybe if he was just a couple of years later, or the follow-up, The Late Album, appeared a little earlier, he might have had a chance to find the niche that others have started to exploit. The music has the high gloss of production that comes from a long time of polishing every note until it shines. Yet in a strange sort of way, Poe's songs need that kind of sheen to make them work. They don't have enough personality to survive a bare bones presentation, so grafting on one in the studio does them justice in its own way. The Late Album tries to mix style and substance and does succeed to a certain degree. Fans of David Gray and other similarly minded artists will find something here to like, but it might be a little too finely-crafted for most.
(Epic)